Antonio Luck, 27

Photo by Nathan Skid

Business development manager, Delphi Technologies Inc., Troy

Why he lives in metro Detroit: “What jumps out at me is all the movement for change. All the energy for moving forward and bringing in a new paradigm,” he said. “All this energy vibrating in the city is what excites me the most.”

Claim to Fame: Being one of the key members last year of the team that launched Monarch Antenna Inc., a spin-off from Delphi Technologies.

Next Step: Choosing another Delphi technology to spin off, which means identifying what he calls “a game-changing technology” and matching it with investors and strategic partners. The next spin-off could happen by the end of the year.

Antonio Luck was serving as an adviser to the president of Tuiuti University ofParana in Brazil in 2006 when Wayne State University President Irvin Reid paid a visit to establish an exchange program. Luck was so taken with Reid’s pitch that he entered the new program, left his job and enrolled at WSU for an MBA.

At Wayne, Luck was awarded an Adams Entrepreneurial Fellowship, which involved a stint at Delphi Technologies, which resulted in the launch last April of Monarch Antenna Inc., a joint-venture of Michigan State University, Ann Arbor Spark, Oakland County’s Automation Alley and Delphi Technologies.

Luck also has degrees in civil engineering and law earned in Brazil.

Nearing the end of his Delphi fellowship earlier this month, Luck accepted a full-time job offer by Delphi Technologies, a Delphi Corp. subsidiary that aims to capitalize on the parent company’s patent portfolio through spin-offs and licensing agreements.

Monarch hopes to make smart antennas that will be built into such devices as laptops to help them improve their wireless connectivity.

“I have met a lot of entrepreneurs in my life all over the country, including Silicon Valley,” said Terry Cross, executive in residence-entrepreneurship at Wayne State, who served as Luck’s fellowship mentor, “but Antonio Luck really tops the list. He is endowed with wisdom, which many people wish they had and never get. In terms of work ethic, he is unstoppable.”

Luck is working toward his H1B work visa. After a year, he hopes to apply for a green card and status as a permanent alien.

“Citizenship is a possibility, but it can only be started about nine years from now,” he said. “My thoughts are of continuing in the U.S., definitely. It is easier to grow a business in the U.S. than Brazil. The system works much better here. I want to have my own entrepreneurial venture at some point, and this is the easiest place to do that.”